Golden Dawn Kicks Out Lawmaker Who Called for Greek Coup d’Etat

A far-right member of Greece’s parliament has been kicked out of his own party after calling for the arrest of the country’s prime minister and president.

Golden Dawn lawmaker Konstantinos Barbarousis called on the armed forces to “abide by their oath” and arrest Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, Defense Minister Panos Kammenos and President Prokopis Pavlopoulos.

He had been speaking during Friday’s debate on a no-confidence motion against the government tabled after the provisional ‘Macedonia’ name deal. He also referred to Greece’s elected rulers as a “government of traitors”.

Golden Dawn lawmakers were barred by the speaker of the house from making any more speeches, and Barbarousis now faces an investigation by the Justice Ministry into whether a crime was committed.

Justice Minister Stavros Kontonis was sent the minutes of this morning’s debate with Barbarousis’ call for a coup d’etat. The minister later told Greek media that lawmakers could be charged with felony offences.